Yesterday was Day 9 of the kitchen remodel.
Day 0 (T) - The general contractor arrives

Day 1 (W) - The range hood vent is installed in the ceiling. The general contractor falls down the stairs.

Day 2 (Th) - The GC points his cane and instructs, and the range hood vent pipe goes all the way to the porch - and momentarily through the storm window.  ( Read more... )

So, there will be a kitchen.  It will not look like this any more:

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Okay, Countertop decision has been made!!  We've been to the stoneyard, seen what we wanted, signed some forms, and put down a deposit.

This is Steel Gray granite, scale length ~1-2ft.  Inclusions are thumbprint-sized.

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Today is Saturday.   Two weeks ago - almost, it was on a Sunday and most places were closed - we contacted a bunch of countertop fabricators to ask them if they could cut runnels into granite.  We got some positive responses, and were ready to go check out the options.  Stoneyards being normal business-hours kinds of places, and located pretty far ( Read more... )

So, we've done it, the kitchen remodel is officially begun. Walls are intact, houseguest inlaw contractor genius doesn't arrive till Oct 26, nothing's actually changed, but as of last weekend, we're in motion. Why? The cabinet order is placed, and there's a $5500 charge on the credit card. Yikes ( Read more... )

Did you know that buying a countertop is horrendously hair-tear-out annoying and complicated?  It is.
The real problem isn't THEM, it's US.  We don't know if we want Corian, or Quartz, or Granite, so we have way too many options.  One reason we can't decide is the sink.  Why does everything have to be all intertwined and complicated?

The sink, you ( Read more... )

Hey, check out this stuff I'm buying on Amazon.  It's basically an LED under-cabinet or cove-lighting DIY kit. 

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Hello, LiveJournal.  Long time no see.  And how are you today?  I confess, I've been cheating on you with Facebook.  Facebook is so much less demanding, hardly requires two sentances at once...

Well, we survived Irene with no problem.  More wind than rain - knocked down my sunflowers and banged the back gate around, but hardly any seepage in the ( Read more... )

The bathroom remodel is going well, and I've been loving having the 4-day weekend home. It's rare that the benefit of another pair of hands outweighs the hassle of fitting 3 people into the bathroom, so I've been helping, but also doing all sorts of non-renovation work.

Thanksgiving dinner: (turkey roulade with shitake-hazelnut stuffing, delicata ( Read more... )

Just what we needed, another project ( Read more... )